What size of saddle pad do I need?

Figure|Find out the answer to these simple questions.

1. What size is my saddle?
2. Is your horse’s back short or long?
3. What is my preference on the look of my tack on my horse?

Size of Saddle:

What is the size of your saddle in length. Is it a barrel, roping, cutting, etc saddle? Short saddle pads (32″ and below) does not work with large roping/cutting saddles. Your saddle may just barely fit on the saddle pad. On the flip side if you have a barrel saddle then you probably want to stay away from the long (34″) saddle pads.

Does my horse have a long or short back?

A lot of people don’t take this into consideration when choosing a saddle pad. The long saddle pads (34″) probably will be too long for short backed horses. It will probably get in the way of the horses hindquarter movement. However things could be reversed as well. If you have a long backed horse and decide to go with a 30″ saddle pad – there may be a lot of the horses back that is still exposed after the saddle pad and saddle are on the horse. You may think it looks weird. That is where this next section comes into play.

What do I want my horse and tack to look like?

Ultimately the decision comes down to your personal preference. What do you think looks good? Do you think that your saddle pad should cover the whole back of the horse and come right before his hindquarters start?

People have different styles and ways that they like their saddle pad, saddle, and horse to look. Some people may use a shorter (28″ or 30″) saddle pad on a short backed horse with a barrel saddle. They may use a larger saddle pad (33″) if a roping saddle is used on the same horse. On a long backed horse if a roping saddle is used they may use a long (34″) pad. However if the same long backed horse is used and a barrel saddle they may use a long (32″ or 33″) pad to cover the horses back.

It boils down to your personal opinion, type and size of saddle, and your horse. There is no absolute correct answer. There are only opinions.

Here is a link with a variety of saddle pad to help you in your decision.

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